Husband Swap

Last weekend we had two guy friends stay here with us to attend a retirement party Saturday night. When they took their stuff upstairs, I told them to use the lamps in the bedroom they'd be staying in because the overhead light was burned out. The light is in the ceiling fan, and it has a round, coiled bulb that I'd never seen before. I tried weeks ago to remove it and get a new one, but I couldn't figure out how to take off the chains for the fan/light and get the fixture off. I told Fred about it, but he hadn't had time to look at it.
A few minutes after I mentioned it to our guests, Paul came downstairs with the burned-out bulb in hand! (He is the friend whose wife Lauri suggested I make a "honey-do" list for Fred last spring.) Of course, I was quite impressed that just mentioning the problem got almost instant results--and not only that, but I bought a new bulb the next day and Paul replaced it and reassembled the whole fixture. Fred was soon commenting in a catty voice, "Ooo, why don't you have Paul replace the window in the basement, too!" We all laughed, but it got me thinking...maybe that's not a bad idea!
We wives could start a program where we "swap" husbands for a day to get some long-overdue chores done. Think of the advantages: we wouldn't nag a guy who is our friend like we might do to our husband. For a man, doing a favor for a friend probably seems less like work than doing it for the old ball and chain. A friend probably won't say, "Will you make me a sandwich?" and plop down to watch TV mid-way through the job, either.
We could each make a list of our husbands' talents (most of them, anyway), and then choose whoever was best suited to the jobs we wanted done. One day every few months could be Husband Swap Day. While the men work on their chore lists, we women could go shopping, have lunch, and come up with new projects for the next swap day.
I think it could work! I live with a perfectly capable handy-man; finding time to DO the chores is the hardest part for him. Here is a list of his skills: carpentry, basic plumbing and electricity, changing oil, yard work, painting, doing firewood, moving furniture, cleaning garages/basements, hauling stuff, making macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs--and playing gin.
Just don't ask him to change a light bulb.

**Happy 23rd birthday, Erica!!!!!